Keira Knightley has beaten Scarlett Johansson to land the part of Eliza Doolittle in a new film adaptation of the cinema classic My Fair Lady.

The 24-year-old actress will be starring in the film, directed by lensman Joe Wright. “Joe and Keira are looking forward to working together again immensely,” an unidentified friend of the filmmarker told The Daily Telegraph on Sunday.

In August, Wright revealed that Keira would compete with the Golden Globe-winning Scarlett, also 24, for the role of the Cockney flower seller played by Audrey Hepburn in the 1964 original.